Realty One

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

PATS 4 WARRIORS 3

REGINA - Not only did the Regina Pats win their sixth game in a row on Wednesday, they did so in dramatic fashion.

Defenceman Connor Hobbs scored with just 24 seconds remaining to cap a seesaw affair and see the Queen City Kids knock off the rival Moose Jaw Warriors 4-3 in the Brandt Centre.

Before another impressive crowd of 5,402, the Pats jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes on a breakaway goal by Austin Wagner.

In a tight, back-and-forth game the teams traded goals throughout with Moose Jaw's Tanner Jeannot and Brett Howden scoring in the middle period along with Regina's Robbie Holmes. That made it 2-2 after 40 minutes.

The Pats' Nick Henry put Regina up 3-2 midway through the third period however Jeannot scored his second of the night for the Tribe to tie it 3-3 with five minutes remaining.

In a wild finish, Hobbs beat Warrior goalie Zach Sawchenko in the game's final minute to give Regina its 35th victory of the season.

The Pats were outshot 33-31 while going 0/4 on the powerplay and 3/3 killing penalties.

Tyler Brown collected the win in the Pats net making 30 saves while Sawchenko suffered the loss with 27 stops.

Regina (35-6-7) returns to action Friday night when they visit the Saskatoon Blades at 7:00 pm on 620 CKRM. The Pats' next home game is Saturday when they welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings. The game will be carried on 620 CKRM as well as throughout Western Canada on Access and Shaw.

Great game tonight. Rest of the season series is going to be great as well. Two good teams with lots of talent.Thought Wagner had one of his better games tonight and even did a little deke on his goal...yes a deke...finally! And kudus to Holmes who also showed some grit tonight and collected a couple of points. With Leedahl and Dewit out for this game it gives these youngsters some valuable playing time on the top lines. Only good for the Pats down the line.If you weren't at the game then check out the highlights for Steel's behind the back pass to Henry for the 3rd goal...a gem!Another very solid game by Brown and assume Hollett will play at least one game this weekend. Thought we outchanced them tonight but couldn't stuff the rebounds which Sawchenko gave up.6 in a row!!

Nice win at home against the Warriors. 3 of the 4 Pats goals were beauties. Steel to Henry was worth the price of admission. Mahura to Hobbs with seconds left in the 3rd period was nice too. I'm glad to see Wagner score with a deke. If he can do that more often, he'll score more goals. He played great tonight.

Tyler Brown played about as good as we could expect him to play. The Warriors scored a couple of goals from the crease area. Josh Thrower for Moose Jaw played dirty as usual (one checking from behind and one boarding call). Not sure why the Pats didn't respond and stick up for their teammates, who got drilled into the boards like that. Filip Ahl is the biggest player on the Pats, but he seems like he's too scared to stick up for his teammates.

For those wondering, Dawson Leedahl was scratched tonight due to a family emergency and Jeff de Wit was scratched due to an illness, as per the pre-game show with Phil Andrews.

This was an extremely poorly played game by the Pats. They were seriously outplayed all night long and the win was more of fluke than anything else. They were out hit, out worked and out skated. We have nobody who can play physical or win one one battles. We were a better team before the trades than we are now. We had more grit and toughness along with being stronger in playoffs. Mahura is mediocre at best and not worth anything close to what was paid for him. We gave up so much and did land "one" impact player. I knew the Pats were terrible tonight and when I read Paddock's comments I knew I had been right!

I actually thought the Pats outplayed Moose Jaw in the first period and they really could or should have had at least another goal that period. Moose Jaw definitely out played the Pats in the second period. They worked harder, out skated the Pats and won more 1 on 1 battles. The third period was a battle of attrition.

Grit and toughness was definitely lacking. Partly due to Leedahl and de Wit being scratched. Josh Thrower was throwing dirty hits all night long and the Pats never made him answer for it. Also, with the Pats trading for younger puck moving defense men, they are keeping an eye on the future (E.g. next year). Although these defense men are good puck movers and will be better next year, they aren't the biggest strongest players (D men) the Pats could have traded for, so they aren't going to win all of the puck battles along the boards. That's part of the trade off when you build for two years instead of one.

Moose Jaw didn't have a full line-up either. Noah Gregor was scratched. Anyone who's watched him play, knows what he brings to the table. He's a great skater and player in general.

The Pats won because they were able to better capitalize on their chances, which is where the skill factor comes into play. Sam Steel to Nick Henry. And criticize Josh Mahura all you want, but he's the one that set Connor Hobbs up for the game winning goal. Sure, he may lose a puck battle or two along the way, but contributing to the score sheet is where it ultimately matters.

If the Pats play the Warriors in the playoffs, the Warriors will make the Pats earn every win they get, that's for sure. The Pats will have to work hard and play tough. I'm not overly concerned though. I fully expect the Pats to be playing their best come playoff time.

If Austin Wagner could ever find out how to score he would be lights out the best player out there. So many chances created by his fantastic speed, but the kid just can't finish. He got one beauty last night where he did finish, but likely could have had 2 or 3 more if he could do this more often. Love watching this kid play.